The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touch screen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to manipulate user interfaces on a display.
Existing methods for manipulating user interfaces containing three-dimensional maps are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, using a sequence of mouse-based inputs or keyboard-based inputs to move, rotate, tilt, zoom and otherwise adjust a three-dimensional map view is tedious and creates a significant cognitive burden on a user. In addition, existing methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.